In a highly physical battle, the DLSU Green Archers kept the team’s Final Four hopes alive after a victory over the undermanned Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 63-56, last September 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Almond Vosotros led the Archers and matched his career high of 21 points, along with two boards and two assists while Jeron Teng tallied another double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Team Captain L.A. Revilla made a comeback as he played for a longer time; he tallied eight points, four rebounds and an assist.
Terrence Romeo, on the other side of the court, top scored with 26 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists while Ryan Roose Garcia added 10 points and 6 dimes.
“I think we were lucky that they were not a complete team when we face them. They got no [Arvie] Bringas at saka [Mark] Belo. Secondly, we know for a fact that RR Garcia, Terrence Romeo will really carry this team in terms of scoring. We just focused our defensive game plan on them. I think the other guys from FEU didn’t really score that much so we’re very happy that we pulled through this game,” La Salle Head Coach Gee Abanilla pointed.
The tough nut
With the Tams threatening to make a comeback with a late 7-2 run in the final quarter, Vosotros successfully banked a three-pointer over Garcia’s defense to extend the Archers’ lead, 56-49, with under 2:33 left in regulation.
“Actually, parang sobrang lucky ko sa last shot na ‘yun. Hindi ko naman expect na shoot ‘yun.,” Vosotros claimed.
Vosotros later iced the game after swishing in two free throws in the dying seconds of regulation to extend his squad’s lead to 10, 59-49.
Stifling defense
The Green Archers displayed a defensive game as the team held the Bert Flores-mentored squad to a measly 32.3 percent shooting from the field. The Archers successfully limited the Tamaraws to 56 points.
“I think we are the number one [team] in defense, points allowed, [and] field goal percentage given up. I think if you’re conscious to do these things, we are [becoming] number one in a lot of departments defensively,” Coach Abanilla anticipated.
Jed Manguera and the other Green defenders did an outstanding in guarding Romeo despite his game-high of 26 points.
The Archers also continued to rack it up from the foul line with the team connecting 15 out of 23 shots, good for 65.2 percent.
Battle of the giants
The Archers’ big men completely outplayed their Tamaraw counterparts in the duel. The team is the league leader in terms of rebounds per game, posting norms of 48.2 per outing. The Taft-based squad showcased its dominance of the boards by out rebounding the Morayta-based squad, 49-40.
Despite Norbert Torres’ struggle to manage a measly 6 points, he came up huge on the defensive end, grabbing a game-high of 11 rebounds while Arnold Van Opstal, Yutien Andrada and Jovet Mendoza hauled a combined 14 boards.
Abanilla pointed out, “We just kept on reminding Norbert [Torres] that he has to grow and mature as a basketball player because a lot of teams have scouted him already.”
The Green-and-White big men also frustrated the Tamaraw frontline of Anthony Hargrove and Christian Sentcheu, forcing them to commit turnovers, limiting their scoring and giving them foul trouble for the rest of the game. Hargrove only finished with two markers while Sentcheu went scoreless.
“I think our big men are really part of things in our system [and] so we are going to get something out from the big men and fortunately they were defensively and offensively decent,” praised Coach Abanilla.
Last push
With this win, DLSU is once again tied at fourth place with the National University Bulldogs as both teams sport a 8-5 record.
The Archers will have to face the Adamson Soaring Falcons this coming Thursday, 4pm at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I think Adamson is a strong team. Tingin ko maganda rin ang preparation nila, si Coach Leo magaling magprepare and gusto nila ang spoiler role,” Coach Abanilla added.
For the Archers to secure a Final Four berth, the team must win the game against the Falcons while praying that NU would lose to FEU on September 23. If both teams, DLSU and NU, are still knotted with 9-5 standings after the eliminations, they will play a knockout playoff game to determine on which team would take the last playoff slot.
The scores:
DLSU (63) – Vosotros 21, Teng 10, Revilla 8, Andrada 7, Van Opstal 6, N.Torres 6, T.Torres 3, Mendoza 2, Webb 0, Manguera 0, Tampus 0.
FEU (56)- Romeo 26, Garcia 10, Mendoza 8, Escoto 5, Cruz 3, Tolomia 2, Hargrove 2, Sentcheu 0, Pogoy 0, M. Bringas 0.
Quarter Scores: 11-12, 26-24,42-33, 63-56
